Freshman Branch’s electric 2-TD debut lifts USC
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Paolo Uggetti, ESPN
LOS ANGELES — For about one half of football, the 2023 version of USC looked like a lot like the 2022 version.
In its season opener against San Jose State on Saturday night, the No. 6-ranked Trojans scored plenty of points but also struggled at times to keep their opponents from doing the same.
Quarterback Caleb Williams began his repeat Heisman campaign by picking up where he left off, throwing for 278 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-28 win. But the new-look defense was once again shaky, showing flashes of the team’s added talent but struggling to contain a mobile quarterback.
“No matter what the score was, if this was a three-point game, if it was a 28-point game, if it was a 50-point game, there’s gonna be that climb to the next step,” head coach Lincoln Riley said postgame. “And that’s where our focus is gonna stay. A lot of work to do, and we’re the right people to get it done.”
Last season, Williams often rendered inconsistent defensive performances moot by himself. He got some help Saturday, when another star emerged in the form of true freshman receiver Zachariah Branch. The No. 7 recruit in the 2023 ESPN 300, Branch took over the third quarter and zoomed his way to 232 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns on just nine touches, including a dazzling 96-yard kickoff return for a score that helped cement the result.
Branch, who arrived on campus in the spring, had attracted rave reviews from his teammates throughout fall camp, but it was unclear how much playing time or impact he would have. After just one game, Branch can lay claim to one of the most electric debuts in USC football history and a role that should continue to grow.
“He made an impact on offense, he made an impact on special teams. He earned it,” said Riley, who notably doesn’t allow freshmen to speak to media. Branch sat alongside him in the press conference. “He did a good job of not trying to do too much, which guys in their first game will sometimes do.”
The 19-year-old from Bishop Gorman High School began his career by catching a pass from Williams in the third quarter and bursting his way into the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Branch unleashed his showstopper. After catching a kickoff near USC’s end zone, Branch began jogging and surveying the field in front of him as if he was mapping out his route. Then, he took off, not merely dodging defenders with his moves, but flying past them as if playing at an entirely different speed. His final move — a cutback near the 20-yard line that gave him an open lane toward the end zone — made the entire stadium gasp.
It also forced Branch to answer postgame questions about his speed.
“My fastest 40 time? I ran 4.38 at the UA camp,” Branch said, recalling the numbers quickly. “My 100 time, I ran 10.3 my sophomore year in high school.”
Branch’s kickoff return for a touchdown was the first for a USC true freshman since Adoree’ Jackson in the 2014 Holiday Bowl — fitting, given that there are plenty of similarities between the two players. Both are listed as wide receivers but are borderline position-less, utilizing incredible speed and agility to outmatch defenses, be it by catching the ball, running it, or taking off on kickoffs and punts.
On Saturday, by the time Branch touched the ball again on a punt return a few series later, all eyes were on him in anticipation of what he might do next. In the span of a few plays, Branch had become one of the most exciting players on the field.
“You don’t have to put it into words once you’re saying it every day, you know?” fellow receiver Tahj Washington said of Branch’s talent.
Branch is one of several players that make up the Trojans’ deep receiver room. In total, 12 players caught passes from either Williams or backup Miller Moss on Saturday. But despite the talent at that position — and an increase in talent at nearly every position heading into this year — Williams said there was some frustration in the opener with the lack of consistency throughout the team.
“In the first half I just felt like we weren’t hitting on certain calibers and things like that, that we’re gonna hit on here soon,” Williams said. “We got a long way to go and a lot to get better at.”
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Wisconsin fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Sunday, a day after the Badgers’ 16-13 home loss to No. 1 Oregon.
In a statement, Badgers coach Luke Fickell thanked Longo for his two seasons with the program, while adding, “We are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team.”
Wisconsin ranks 97th nationally in scoring and 102nd in passing while operating an Air Raid-style offense that Longo brought with him from North Carolina and other stops.
The Badgers, who lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a season-ending injury Sept. 14, had only three points and 88 yards in the second half against Oregon, which rallied from a 13-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
Wisconsin ranked 101st nationally in scoring in Longo’s 23 games as coordinator and failed to eclipse 13 points on its current three-game losing streak. Quarterback Braedyn Locke had only 96 passing yards against the Ducks.
Fickell did not immediately announce an interim coordinator for Wisconsin’s final regular-season games against Nebraska and Minnesota.
Fickell had long targeted Longo for a coordinator role, going back to his time as Cincinnati’s coach. Longo, 56, oversaw productive offenses at Ole Miss, North Carolina, Sam Houston State and other spots but never consistently got traction at a Wisconsin program that had operated dramatically differently on offense before his arrival.
“This team still has a lot in front of us and I am committed to doing everything we can to close out this season with success,” Fickell said in his statement.
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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. has committed to Florida, he told ESPN on Sunday, joining the Gators’ 2025 class four days after pulling his pledge from Florida State.
Jones, a four-year starter at Florida’s Mandarin High School, is ESPN’s No. 9 dual-threat passer in the Class of 2025. After multiple trips to Florida throughout his recruitment, Jones returned to campus Saturday, taking an official visit with the Gators during the program’s 27-16 win over LSU. A day later, Jones stands as the lone quarterback pledge in a 2025 Florida class that includes five pledges from the ESPN 300.
“I pretty much saw everything I needed to see when I visited last spring — I just love everything around the campus,” Jones told ESPN. “And then hanging out with the guys yesterday, seeing the camaraderie with each other, that really just sealed it for me.”
Jones was the longest-tenured member of Mike Norvell’s 2025 class at Florida State before his decommitment from the Seminoles on Thursday morning.
Jones’ exit came days after Norvell announced the firings of three assistant coaches on Nov. 10, including offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins. Jones was the first Florida State commit to pull his pledge in the wake of the staff shakeup but marked the Seminoles sixth decommitment since the start of the regular season, joining five ESPN 300 recruits who have left Norvell’s recruiting class across the program’s 1-9 start.
Jones’ commitment follows a key late-season victory for Billy Napier on Saturday and marks the Gators’ first recruiting win since athletic director Scott Strickland announced on Nov. 7 that Florida would stick with the third-year coach beyond the 2024 season.
Uncertainty over Napier’s future had weighed down Florida’s recruiting efforts in the 2025 class as the Gators began November with the No. 39 class in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle. But Jones’ pledge comes as a boost for Florida one day after the Gators hosted a handful of high-profile flip targets, including five-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas (Florida State pledge) and four-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (Texas pledge).
When Jones signs with Florida, he’ll arrive on campus flanked by fellow in-state offensive talents in four-star wide receivers Vernell Brown III (No. 44 in the ESPN 300) and Naeshaun Montgomery (No. 115), as well as four-star running back Waltez Clark (No. 223). Florida is also set to sign a pair of in-state defenders from the 2025 ESPN 300 between four-star defensive end Jalen Wiggins (No. 68) and four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. (No. 121).
With Jones’ commitment, Florida has another jolt to its momentum on the recruiting trail as the Gators seek to chart a strong finish in the 2025 cycle next month. More imminently, Florida will host No. 11 Ole Miss on Saturday.
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